I thank
thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things
from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father,
for such was thy gracious will

ON THE INFANTS

Here are collected all the utterances of Jesus that incorporate
the Greek word, paidon, and its forms. The definitions, as
given by Thayer1 for paidon are a young child, a little
boy, a little girl, infants, children, and a child recently born.
The English translations most often render them as child, little
child, and little children. The corresponding English word is colored
in purple where it occurs in the English text below.

When, in a parallel passage one finds the word "children" that is not colored
purple, this indicates that paidon is not there, but rather another
word, probably teknon.

When Jesus utilized this word, his emphasis is on the "little"
aspect of it. Furthermore, it is the word utilized by the evangelists
to designate the infant Jesus in the nativity stories. By keeping
this in mind, we can better understant how Jesus (and the Father) view us,
the little children, or infants, of the Father while we remain in this world.

[5] And he said to them, "Which of you who has a friend will go to him at midnight
and say to him, `Friend, lend me three loaves;
[6] for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey,
and I have nothing to set before him';
[7] and he will answer from within, `Do
not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children
are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything'?
[8] I tell you, though he will not get up and
give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity
he will rise and give him whatever he needs.

CHILDREN
IN THE MARKET PLACE

Matthew 11

[16] "But to what
shall I compare this generation? It is like children
sitting in the market places and calling to their playmates,
[17] `We piped to you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not mourn.'

[18] For John came neither eating nor drinking,
and they say, `He has a demon';

[19] the Son of man came eating and drinking,
and they say, `Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors
and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds."

M

Luke 7

[31] "To what then shall I
compare the men of this generation, and what are they like?
[32] They are like children
sitting in the market place and calling to one another, `We piped to you,
and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not weep.'
[33] For John the Baptist has come eating no
bread and drinking no wine; and you say, `He has a demon.'
[34] The Son of man has come eating and drinking;
and you say, `Behold, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors
and sinners!'
[35] Yet wisdom is justified by all her children."

WHO IS THE GREATEST?

Matt. 18

[1]At that time the disciples came to
Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"

[2] And
calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them,

[3] and
said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
[4] Whoever humbles himself
like this child, he is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven. [5] "Whoever receives one
such child in my name receives me;

Mark 9

[33] And they came to Caper'na-um; and when he was in the house
he asked them, "What were you discussing on the way?"
[34] But they were silent; for on the way they had discussed with
one another who was the greatest.
[35] And he sat down and called the twelve; and he said to them,
"If any one would be first, he must be last
of all and servant of all."
[36] And he took a child, and put him in the midst of them; and
taking him in his arms, he said to them,

[37] "Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me; and whoever receives
me, receives not me but him who sent me."

Luke 9

[46] And an argument arose among them as to which of them was the
greatest.

[47] But when Jesus perceived the thought of their hearts, he took
a child and put him by his side,

[48] and said to them, "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives
me receives him who sent me; for he who is least among you all is the one
who is great."

LET THE CHILDREN COME TO ME

Matt. 19

[13] Then children were brought to him that he might
lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people;

[14] but Jesus said, "Let the
children come to me, and do not
hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven."

[15] And he laid his hands on them and went away.

Mark 10

[13] And they were bringing children
to him, that he might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them.
[14] But when Jesus saw it he was indignant, and said to them, "Let the children come to me,
do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. [15] Truly, I say to you,
whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child
shall not enter it."
[16] And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands
upon them.

Luke 18

[15] Now they were bringing even infants to him that
he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
[16] But Jesus called them to him, saying, "Let
the children come to me, and do not hinder them;
for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
[17] Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom
of God like a child shall not enter it."

FROM THE FOURTH GOSPEL

John 16

[16] "A little while,
and you will see me no more; again a little while, and you will see me."
[17] Some of his disciples said to one another, "What is this that
he says to us, `A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little
while, and you will see me'; and, `because I go to the Father'?"
[18] They said, "What does he mean by `a little while'? We do not
know what he means."
[19] Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him; so he said to them, "Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by
saying, `A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while,
and you will see me'?
[20] Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep
and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow
will turn into joy.
[21] When a woman is in travail she has sorrow,
because her hour has come; but when she is delivered of the child, she no longer remembers the anguish, for
joy that a child is born into the world.
[22] So you have sorrow now, but I will see
you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from
you.

John 21

[1] After this Jesus revealed himself again
to the disciples by the Sea of Tibe'ri-as; and he revealed himself in this
way.
[2] Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathan'a-el of Cana in Galilee,
the sons of Zeb'edee, and two others of his disciples were together.
[3] Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him,
"We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat; but that night
they caught nothing.
[4] Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples
did not know that it was Jesus.
[5] Jesus said to them, "Children, have you any fish?" They answered
him, "No."
[6] He said to them, "Cast the net on the right
side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now
they were not able to haul it in, for the quantity of fish.